On Saturday, December 15th, nearly 100 people held a candle light vigil in front of a new mural designed and painted by local artist Paul Barron and Gary King Sr. at the spot where his son Gary King Jr. was brutally killed by Oakland Police Officer Patrick Gonzalez on September 20. Family and friends had turned the spot of the murder into a shrine with candles, but messages of love and anger were repeatedly torn down by the City of Oakland. It was only after family and friends launched a struggle that the city approved the creation of a permanent mural.

Gary King Jr., a 20 year old African-American, was murdered by Officer Gonzalez after he was badly beaten, tazered numerous times and then shot twice in the back. Witnesses report that before Officer Gonzalez called an ambulance, he dragged Gary King Jr. a few feet, stood on his back and hand-cuffed him.

Outraged and devastated, family, friends, neighbors and supporters have built a determined grassroots movement to demand that Officer Gonzalez be removed from the Oakland Police force. The North Oakland community is also demanding that sweeping changes be made to prevent this from happening again, bringing into question the entire code of conduct of the Oakland Police Department.

Photos | Past Coverage Of Gary King's Murder | March on October 22nd Drew Attention to Police Brutality